Anyone non-religious here? Please be nice!

[redux]

Well, we are nice people.

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
As you should be

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Organized religion is an oxymoron.


Spirituality does not equal religion.

Morality does not need to be defined by others.

Spirituality, like beauty is not in the eye, but the heart of the beholder.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

I have WHAT in my yard? :

Organized religion is an oxymoron.


Spirituality does not equal religion.

Morality does not need to be defined by others.

Spirituality, like beauty is not in the eye, but the heart of the beholder.

So what would you consider moral ?​

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Quote:
Solid proof of what ?

For a really simple example: When you heat water, it turns to steam. I don't remember at what temp. it does that BUT every time you heat water to that point, it turns to steam. If you chill water to 32 degs, it freezes. Every time. That is a scientific fact because it can be repeated over and over and always has the same conclusion. The fact that it always has the same result no matter who conducts the experiment is what makes it scientific proof that H2O can be a solid, a liquid, and a gas.

Religion and philosophy are about what we think and feel and, since everyone thinks and feels differently from one another, the "truth" of a given philosophy really cannot be proved the way a scientific fact can. Many non-religious people stick to what they can prove scientifically and distrust what others simply believe is a truth. That doesn't make one right and the other wrong.

I look at it this way: I believe god is creating the universe and every scientific fact I can prove about that creation gives me an insight into how he thinks and how he made everything. Since these are facts I can prove, I feel safe accepting them as truths about him. Formal religions, however, were created by human beings, and because humans are not as smart as their creator, there are mistakes in those religions, so I avoid them and stick to what I know can be proved. Every provable scientific fact fills me with awe that he could create such a magnificent universe and makes me feel closer to him because I now understand this one minuscule bit about his creations: that H2O is a solid, a liquid, and a gas. Isn't that amazing? I haven't a clue how he figured it out and made it work, but I AM convinced that he did so. And that is just one tiny fragment of what he's done!


Rusty

I like how you think.

 

[Prettiest Frog]

Quote:
Anything not immoral.

Immoral being that which hurts others unnecessarily.

Note that 'hurt' and 'offend' are not synonyms.

 

[mom'sfolly]

Science is the study of natural phenomenon. God, by definition, is supernatural and therefore outside the scope of science.

 

[Prettiest Frog]

mom'sfolly :

Science is the study of natural phenomenon. God, by definition, is supernatural and therefore outside the scope of science.

I've asked this often, but I rarely get a good answer.

How, exactly, do you define god? Can you provide a definition that both puts him outside the scope of science (i.e. - being something impossible to study) and encompasses the religious views of what god supposedly has done?

What was the temperature of the burning bush?

What is the decibel level of the voice of god?


If it interacts with the world, it is within the scope of science. If it affects the world in anyway whatsoever, it is within the scope of science.​

 

[redux]

Quote:
To me, morality is basically the golden rule. I try to treat others the way I would like to be treated. Do I fall short? More often than I would care to admit. But that is my standard.

 

[SunnyDawn]

Quote:
To me, morality is basically the golden rule. I try to treat others the way I would like to be treated. Do I fall short? More often than I would care to admit. But that is my standard.

Well said.